When one of the creative minds behind the weirdly sweet and sweetly weird modern animated classic Adventure Time turns his attention to the comic book medium, it’s difficult not to pay attention. In Derek Hunter’s afterword, he details the moonlighting labor of love that is “Pretty Violent.” It’s not an uncommon refrain for creators of comic books. Toiling away on a project without the faintest inkling if their efforts will be rewarded is the hallmark of many creative endeavors, but carving out a modicum of success on the crowded virtual and physical stands is especially daunting in the creator-owned comic book world. These things often creep into assessments of such final products, resulting in a more favorable view than perhaps is warranted on the basis of the effort alone. But does the first issue of “Pretty Violent” require such critical generosity?
Written by Derek Hunter and Jason YoungCover by Derek Hunter
Illustrated by Derek Hunter
Colored by Spencer HoltGamma Rae wants to be a superhero, and why shouldn’t she!? She’s been strong since she was a baby. The only problem is, all her siblings are notorious hero-murdering criminals! Join artist DEREK HUNTER (DuckTales, Adventure Time), and writer JASON YOUNG (I HATE FAIRYLAND) for this all-new ongoing, gore-filled, laugh-out-loud comedy for mature readers that explores one girl’s journey through the rift between personal and family identity.
From the first page to the aforementioned afterword, “Pretty Violent” strikes a crass and profanity-laden note (the cheeky tagline “…with lots of swears” served adequate and well-deserved warning for readers who might be tempted to pick this up for their comic-reading young ‘uns). It’s understandable for a book about the super-powered scion of super villain parents who is trying her damndest to be good. Heroic even. The story’s dramatic weight seems to lie in how difficult it is to fight one’s nature and nurturing (or lack thereof) influences, but our central character, the precocious Gamma Rae, is no sweetheart so it’s difficult to understand the basis for these urges to do good. From whence do they come? This first issue seems totally uninterested in answering that question in favor of literal and figurative eye-popping carnage that unfolds over the main story’s pages. The book is a visceral action-packed riot from start to finish as long as creative and frequent swearing is your cup of tea. Dwelling on the amount of cursing may sound prudish, but it’s almost enough to put the citizens of Deadwood to shame, so be forewarned. Howard does have a keen comic ear for the way swearing can organically punctuate a declarative and interrogative sentence. It never feels tacked-on, but it does feel like Howard might have had a need to cut loose after a long day of working on the exploits of Finn and Jake.
Amidst the wall-to-wall (and building-to-building) carnage is some wry commentary of the fickleness of superhero (and even super villain) fandom. There are some clever ideas at work here, but Hunter and Jason Young have opted to focus on the super heroics in extremis . It reminded this reviewer of Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés’s Groo, another well-meaning character who often did more harm than good on his wanderings and often left a trail of casualties in his wake. Frankly, that’s where the comparison ends, as enough can’t be said about the creative way that Howard depicts the book’s violence. Blood doesn’t so much spatter as it erupts. Heads are used as projectile weapons. Intestines eject from torsos like those practical joke cans from days of yore where spring-loaded snakes would fly in all directions upon the vessel’s opening. Holding the proceedings together is Howard’s Silly Putty style and Spencer Holt’s candy-coated coloring. Howard clearly has the heart and tendencies of an animator, and the characters bound off and across the pages. The issue concludes and the riotous backup story begins before you can catch your breath. It’s also easy to draw comparisons to another Image series with a very young and violently misanthropic female central character, “I Hate Fairyland,” the Skottie Young creator-owned title on which Image’s website credits Jason Young as a developer. It’s worth noting that the books share a similarly violent aesthetic, but where “I Hate Fairyland” might be a 7 out of 10, “Pretty Violent” is at least a 14.
In the final analysis, there’s not much to analyze in this opening foray, and that’s okay. While it may make the proceedings read as a little one note, and the trope may wear thin in successive installments, Howard and Young pulled no punches here, and that’s to be commended. It’s a “go big or go home” approach to storytelling and the kind of simple elevator pitch concept on which more subversive ideas can hang if the creators want to do so. It could help the series to a longer life, if that’s even the goal. Even if the book is a vision cribbed and cobbled in part from other sources (what project isn’t?), Howard’s enthusiasm clearly shows on the page. At the end of the day, that’s all you can really ask for from a creator-owned series. For now, the series is off to an anarchic and unapologetically lowbrow start. It will be interesting to see if Howard and Young aim for anything more in this violently fizzy series.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – “Pretty Violent” #1 is a raucous and potty-mouthed debut that certainly has room to be more than this first issue portends.
